Fast food chain McDonald's has lost an eight-year trademark battle against a Malaysian curry restaurant called McCurry.

The company had claimed that use of the 'Mc' prefix infringed its trademark but the Federal Court in Kuala Lumpur has dismissed its application to appeal against an earlier judgement which allowed McCurry to use the prefix. In passing judgement, Judge A. Zakaria said that McDonald's questions "were not properly framed." McCurry, said to be short for 'Malaysian Chicken Curry', serves Indian and local dishes and opened in 1999. The restaurant's owner, P. Suppiah, said he was pleased that the legal battle was over and that he could now move on with a plan to expand the McCurry empire with the opening of further outlets.

A spokesperson for McDonald's said the company would abide by the court's decision.